Computing devices take many different shapes, sizes, and costs. These computing devices range from portable hand-held organizers, computers, set-top units, gaming consoles to electronic "appliances." At the heart of each computer device lies a microprocessor which acts as the brain of the device. Successive generations of microprocessor designs have resulted in faster speeds and enhanced processing power. However, the overall price charged for any given computing device has historically tended to remain the same. In general, one would expect to pay roughly the same amount of money for the purchase of a new PC or gaming console today as a few years ago, except that today's devices would be much faster and have improved performance and functionalities (e.g., superior three-dimensional graphics and/or video capabilities which runs at faster speeds).
Some consumers will pay a premium to get the latest and greatest models to hit the shelves. However, there is a huge segment of the consumer market which cannot afford or justify the expense of buying the latest and greatest. Yet, this market segment would enjoy playing computer games, surfing the Internet, sending e-mail, performing word-processing, video teleconferencing, etc. In an effort to reduce the price of such a computing device, some manufacturers are selling stripped down, bare-bones systems. But even these basic, no frills devices are too expensive. Less expensive alternatives are oftentimes too specialized and focused on only one particular computing application. Increasing their performance and functionalities results in increased costs as well.
One reason why it becomes more costly to offer enhanced functionality and performance is due to the fact that added functionalities are typically achieved by inserting additional, new integrated circuit (IC) chips and/or cards to the system. For example, specialized graphics chipsets are often added to enhance graphics generation; video cards are inserted to improve video display; and custom audio circuits might be designed for specialized sound effects. In so doing, expenses are incurred to fabricate the new chips/boards, wire them together, control the various circuits, and otherwise provide the proper interface and timing between the assortment of components. Furthermore, the media processing was typically performed independently by each of the functional units. For instance, the graphics chipsets would render graphics images; the video chipset would perform its video processing; and the audio circuitry would generate the appropriate audio signals. Each of these three tasks was performed concurrently by each of the separate, dedicated functional units.
In contrast, the present invention provides a much less expensive computing system without sacrificing much in the way of functionality, quality, and versatility. The present invention achieves this by designing a single, integrated media co-processor chip which is capable of processing graphics, video and audio. This reduces costs because it minimizes duplicate functionalities and redundant circuitry. With the media co-processor chip, the present invention partitions different media tasks so that they are performed sequentially in a time-division multiplexed format. For a given amount of time synchronized to the video frame, a specified amount of time is partitioned to perform audio tasks; a specified amount of time is partitioned to process video; and the time left over is partitioned to render graphics.